MODIA
Translation in English

Rav Professor Yehoshua Rahamim Dufour (Dipur, in hebrew)
http://www.modia.org/
dufour@modia.org
The Modia site of Internet related Torah and Talmud studies has been dedicated in memory of my parents, and Renée, Sylvain and FrancescoGompers zt"l.

The essential and most important:
Here, every week,
commentary of ALL the Torah based on the books of our Sages.
(All is ready)

Hope in Israel, here.

His name: Or Israel! Light of Israel!

and in english, here:
Visual study and song
on snow, for,
through our union with the song of nature,
the plan of Creation will be fulfilled.

  The author: Pr. Rav Yehoshua Rahamim Dipur

Links
Qualifications. Positions held by the author
Three Areas of expertise
Publications on the Modia Website and the importance of ethnopsychology
11 books and 50 scientific papers

Judaism, psychology, counseling and ethnopsychology :

Links

1. Understanding Jewish Identity for Psychological and Educational Counselors

2. Recommendations for People who wish to offer psychological support to victims of terror or missile attacks.

3. Research into Psychology and Repentance (teshuvah)

Yehoshua Ra'hamim (Roger) Dufour (Dipur, in hebrew)
Rav (rabbinical semisha by Rav Chalom Messas, Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, zal).
Psychologist, psychoanalyst, psychodrama therapist. Counseling. Psychotherapy.
State Doctorate in Clinical Human Sciences (with highest distinction), Paris 7. 
Subject: a theoretical and critical study of the personal and cultural imagination in analytical daydreaming.

Positions held by the author
Current position: Professor, Department of Criminology, University of Bar Ilan, Ramat Gan, Israel.
Co-founder and Secretary General of ASEVICO, International Association for Scientific Exchange on Violence and Human Coexistence.

Previously held positions:
Teacher with the IFEPP, the Institute of Training and Teaching in Psychological and Psychososiological studies.
Didactic psychoanalyst.
President of the International Association of Psychoanalytical Directed Daydreaming.
President of the International Psychoanalytical and Anthropological Association.

Awarded the Gabriel Tarde Prize in 1989 by the French Association of Criminology.

Telephone: 972-2-563 41 37
from Israel: 02 - 563 41 37

Fax:  972-2-563 41 37
from Israel: 02-563 41 37

Address: Dufour-Modia 5 alef Rehov Alroi, Jerusalem 92108. Israel

E-mail: modia@bezeqint.net

Domains of specialization:
1. Psychotherapy and counseling, with emphasis on ethnopsychology and the influence of psychological, cultural and Jewish backgrounds on self-development;
2. The psychological and psychopathological aspects of violence; Multicultural research on violence and human coexistence;
3. The cognitive processes involved in the study of the Torah and the Talmud.

In what way are these three areas linked?
Many readers want to understand the relationship between the study of epistemology of Jewish texts as described in my book "Lev Gompers" and my professional activities as a teacher of psychology and therapeutic counselor.
My answer is that I dwell and "live" in Jerusalem (may it become a truly holy city again!).
After having taught in Paris, I am now a professor at the University of Bar Ilan in the Department of Criminology, where I teach students about the psychology of violence. I also work as a counselor in self-development.
I devote considerable time to study, research and publication.

Approach
My approach in my research, publications, teaching, counseling and psychotherapy, is also based on the three areas listed above: psychology, anthropology and Jewish tradition.
I try to understand how each individual functions, thinks, communicates and what is the influence or tradition that has shaped him and given him the
means to develop, fulfill himself, maintain equilibrium and manage the personal or inter-personal crises which erupt in a person’s life.
In all of these areas, as in what links the three domains - psychology, anthropology and Jewish tradition, as in the "Lev Gompers," and as in meditation and Torah teaching, the central guiding force of man is the Jewish concept of "lev" - the heart.
My aim, when a Jew asks for help or enters psychotherapy, is to help him discover this holistic link and harmony which is the basis of self-development. (See my thesis of doctorate).
The papers and books I have written follow the same approach with regard to psychotherapy, dreams, the doctor/healer-patient relationship, personal, inter-personal crises or group crises, the relationship between psychology and Jewish tradition, the fight against violence, and the struggle for human coexistence.
Thus these two areas (scientific and Jewish anthropology) are not treated as separate, for they are part and parcel of the same person;  the person who seeks and the person who constructs are one and the same.  Applying all one’s personal resources in order to help, study, act or pray, involves the same process, for it is written in Tractate Shabbat 75a: R. Shimon ben Pazi, in the name of R. Yehoshua ben Levi in the name of Bar Kappara said: "he who studied astronomy and does not practice this science is designated by this verse ‘they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of His hands’ (Isaiah 5, 12)."

Studying, researching and teaching the Torah.
The preface of Lev Gompers (2nd edition) describes my background in Torah study and the Sages who influenced me.  It also includes recommendations by rabbinical authorities on the book which is an introductory book to the study of the Talmud.
Here is a short extract from the recommendation of Rav Shalom Messas (Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, and Head of Rabbinical Courts of Jerusalem): "… an important work, not only because of its content but also because of its high standard.. It presents a wealth of knowledge, rules and introductions both for beginner students of the Talmud and for those who have already delved in it… even the most knowledgeable hakhamim (scholars)
of the Talmud and its commentaries will value and benefit from this work." 

Publications

The entire Modia Website is devoted to the epistemology of Judaism at an academic study,  encompassing every aspect: cognitive, emotional, inter-personal,representation of man, time, space, etc.   This knowledge is indispensable, particularly for those who work in counseling, psychotherapy, education. It is essential for people working in these fields to take into account the implicit or explicit ethnopsychology of those who seek help. (see below).

Books (as of 1989)

  1 .  L’image et le corps. [Psychotherapy in Prisons: Image and Body] 
ESF publishers-Paris, 1989, 165 pages.  (In all bookstores)
     Abstract: The author has chosen to describe psychotherapy in extreme conditions (prison, noise, the case of a murderer, risk of suicide, mutilation, acting out, repressive institution) in order to illustrate the essence of psychotherapy. He describes the therapeutic sessions, his theoretical analysis of the cases, his interventions and the responses which emerged. He shows how he takes into account the relationship between body, image and language. Each step in the therapy warrants continued analytical assessment and creativity. The book is accompanied by an in-depth bibliography.
Target audience: the general public, students, psychotherapists and psychoanalysts.
Key words: dream, daydreaming, motive, creativity, body image, acting, executing an act, treatment of violent prisoners, personal space, psychotherapy, prison.

  2 .  La relation avec le patient. [Patients’ Perception  of Physicians
and Illness]. Privat-Dunod, Toulouse-Paris, 1992, 239 pages. (In all bookstores)
Abstract: Illness is a difficult period both for the physician/caregiver as for the sick person and his family. In addition to physical pain, the sick person experiences great internal disruption and
this creates difficulties in the caregiver-patient relationship. Despite good intentions on all sides, lack of understanding, dissatisfaction, misunderstandings, anguish, violence, institutional scorn are common
occurrences. The scientific book is based on the author’s personal therapeutic accompaniment of sick people during illnesses which lasted over ten years. It describes numerous cases, offers advice, and constitutes an invaluable illness guide, for sick people as well as for their families and caregivers. It helps people deal with dissatisfaction, depression, failing quality of life, conflicts, and loneliness during this period. Specific chapters are devoted to serious illnesses and terminal phases, when caregivers feel particularly helpless and are at a loss as to what to do and say. The chapters are accompanied by short, specialized bibliographies of titles offering a broader knowledge on the subject and suitable for personal development and teaching purposes.
Target audience: researchers, therapists, the general public, medical students, caregivers and relatives of patients.
Key words: illness, quality of life, cancer patient, doctor-patient relationship, coping. therapists, the general public, medical students, caregivers and relatives of patients.

  3 .  Ecouter le Reve  (Psycholinguistics of daydreaming in psychoanalytic treatment).
Robert Laffont, 1992, revised 2nd edition. 350 pages. (in all bookstores)
Abstract: The book describes the process of daydreaming, its rules and linguistics, and how psychotherapy and psychoanalysis interpret it. Therapeutic work with daydreams not only reveals important material for interpretation but also creates a psychic reorganization which enables patients to resolve problems and develop self-understanding and creativity. The book describes these processes and teaches how to listen to oneself and to others, for we are always astride between reality and the dreamworld. It enables one to discover the great literary and mythical wealth which exists in all daily discourse.
Target audience: the general public, students, psychotherapists and psychoanalysts.
Key words: daydreaming, dream-work, listening, linguistics, psychotherapy, poetry.

  4 .  Dictionnaire de la violence et du crime  [Scientific Dictionary of Violence and Crime]. 
Eres. Toulouse, 1993. 458 pages. (in all bookstores)
Abstract: The book examines, subject by subject, current issues of violence (theft, assault, terrorism, rape, crime, suicide, political and financial violence, drugs, media, incest, war, etc.) and is based on the author’s own research and that of  international experts, particularly Anglo-Saxon researchers, whose works are little known in France. It also describes the different researchers, schools of thought and concepts, and lists the bibliographies of the best works on each subject.
Target audience: this book addresses itself to all those who experience violence and to professionals who deal with issues of violence.  It is therefore suitable for those who work in the social sector (psychologists and psychotherapists, educators, social workers, journalists, lawyers and judges, physicians and psychiatrists, police officers, teachers, those working in drug rehabilitation programs, etc.); to those, in municipal, regional and national offices, who are in charge of individual or group violence and who require a solid grounding on the subject; to heads of community organizations (cultural, educational, parents of schoolchildren, aid to minorities and victims of violence); to the members of the public who are exposed to violence in their daily lives and in the media and who are concerned about the rise of violence in our society.
Key-words: violence, crime.

  5 .  Clinical Criminology.  Subject headings: violence, deviance and human rights, scientific classification, computational linguistics, an indexing system and informational retrieval system. 
[In English, French and Italian.]
Proxima, International Institute for Human Rights. Trieste, Italy. 1993. 251 pages.
Abstract: This book is addressed to academics and librarians. It describes all the concepts relating to violence which are found in academic literature and used in numerous disciplines and organizes them in a logical hierarchy suitable for use in computerized library systems. The book is entirely trilingual and enables the listing of French and Italian scientific concepts and publications in international data-banks.

  6 .   Les dynamiques psychologiques et cliniques du crime contre
l’humanite [pychological and clinical processes of crimes against humanity]: chapter
in "Le Crime Contre l’Humanite." 
Eres. Toulouse, 1996. pp. 135-154.
Abstract: This interdisciplinary book is devoted to the logic of mass extermination which so painfully characterizes the 20th century in numerous countries. The chapter presents a clinical and psychological study of various mass murderers. It is based on interviews, diaries, memoirs, psychotherapies, judicial proceedings, psychological and psychiatric examinations, and personal testimonies of different types of criminals.
The author stresses the process of personality splits, multiple sets of morals operating simultaneously, unequivocal monodependency on a third party, and the presence of these mechanisms in collaborators who assisted the mass murderers.
Target audience: the general public, students and teachers in social sciences.
Key-words: Holocaust, Hitler, Nazism, genocide, war, criminals,  Eichmann, obedience, torture, survivors, mass-murder.

  7 .  Role de l’intellectuel face aux causes de la violence politique dans
la societie occidentale [The role of the intellectual and the causes of political
violence in Western society] in "Pour un monde responsable et solidare"
[towards a responsible and united world]. Editions Montmorency, Quebec,
Canada. 19997. Pp. 379-391.
Abstract: In addition to the classical theories, the author insists on the need for intellectuals to know different cultures and to think in terms of different anthropologies; not to limit themselves to theories on others but to consider different concepts from the perspective of the "other." Conflicts are based on implicit ideologies which simplify reality,  dissect it into the two categories of good and evil anddemonize the enemy before treating his disappearance as a logical event. The intellectual’s use of ideologies, religion and ethics for the cause of violence is a process which needs to be examined closely and competently.
Target audience: the general public, students and teachers of social sciences.
Key words: collective violence, ideology, hate.

Other books

  8 .  Jerusalem  et l’homme-Bible (poems - Jerusalem and man-Bible). Paris. 1993.

  9 .  Lev Gompers: Comment etudier le Talmud avec les maitres de la tradition. [How to study the Talmud with the masters of tradition). Ed. Lev. Jerusalem, 1994. 521 pages. 2nd revised edition in press. Extracts on the Modia site.

  10 .  L’Amour au dela de l’amour (poems - Love which is beyond love).
Extracts on the Modia site.

  11 .  L’Ami des aurores (poems - Friend of the dawn). Extracts on the Modia site.

The author has published more than 50 papers in major academic journals.

1. Le suicide et la tradition Juive [Suicide in Jewish Tradition; Ethno-Suicidology].
Nouvelle Revue d’Ethnopsychiatrie, 19. 1992. Pp. 121-169.
Abstract: The paper presents numerous cases of suicide described in Jewish religious literature and analyzes them from a psychological perspective. It also describes the complex and nuanced attitude of Jewish law (halakha) to suicide.
Key words: suicide, halakha, Bible, Judaism.

2. Penser la violence
Revue Internationale des Sciences. PP 246-268.
Abstract: The paper describes the development of visual, progaganda techniques in contemporary warfare. It examines the psychological processes of this phenomenon and the role played by the military, the media and the spectator-public.
Key words: terrorism, violence, war, cinema, television.

3. Ver la violencia de la guerra o el teatro de operaciones. [in Spanish]
Revista International de Ciencias de Catalunya. Centre Unesco de Catalunya, Barcelona, Juno 1992. PP 237-256.

4. Watching the violence of warfare in the theatre of operations.
International Social Science Journal. Blackwell Publishers. May 1993. Pp. 247-265.
Abstract: The comment that war is as good as watching a film and the phrase ‘theater of operations’ aptly sum up contemporary attitudes to warfare and highlight the increasing importance of its visual aspects.  The author describes the psychological mechanisms with which terrorism operates on the general public, the public’s attitude to war, terrorism as a communication strategy, fantasy journalism, press reporting and dramatization, collective criminal thinking, terrorists and soldiers as actors, social conditions conducive to terrorism, the regulatory role of journalists, daydreaming and reality.
Key words: terrorism, journalist, dream, crime, strategy, war-game.

5. Watching the violence of warfare in the theatre of operations [in Chinese].
International Social Science Journal. Peking. 1994. Pp. 83-102. The above paper has also been published in Arabic and Russian academic
journals.

6. Les intellectuels et la violence [intellectuals and violence].
Hebrew University. Studies in Literature, 20. 1993. Pp. 27-49.
Abstract: The paper examines the phenomena of rivalry, aggression and violence in academic life and the part played by intellectuals in legitimizing collective violence.
 

7. Correspondance sur la lutte pour la vie dans les camps d’internement nazis
en France [Psychology of prisoners in Nazi transit camps in France]. 
Revue Perspectives. 1. 1994. Hebrew University Studies. Jerusalem. Pp. 100-164.
Abstract: The paper presents and analyzes from a psychological perspective 50 letters written by a woman prisoner in Drancy. The letters reveal the psychological evolution undergone by deportees, in particular, the processes of psychological resistance to the degradations which they experienced. The paper enabled the author to publish in 1994 official documents proving, contrary to the falsehoods disseminated in various quarters, that the French government had ordered that the monies sequestered from the deportees were to be placed individual accounts with the Caisse des Depots et Consignations, and not in one collective account which allegedly disappeared.  Despite numerous attempts by the author to publicize this fact, the media remained silent until international pressure recently forced the French government to establish a committee of inquiry into the issue.
Key words: deportation, prisoners, French police, dormant accounts, Drancy, frozen accounts, Auschwitz, Gompers, Chereau.
 

Understanding Jewish Identity
for Psychological and Educational Counselors

by Rav Professor Yehoshua Rahamim (Roger) Dufour

This page is directed at two types of professional counselors:
  1 .  Professionals who "counsel" in the broadest sense of the word. These are professionals to whom people turn to for help, through talk and through the relationship with the counselor, in order to understand themselves better or in order to deal with existential, professional, emotional, sexual or inter-personal difficulties.
The counseling process is not just a matter of understanding and resolving problems; it also involves the evolution of a person’s identity.
This category also includes psychologists who work in Jewish institutions and who counsel people who specifically wish to relate to their Jewish identity.
  2 .  This page is also directed at rabbis who, in their capacity as spiritual guides and leaders, are constantly consulted on personal matters but who have no specific psychological training.

Psychological counseling
When counselors try to understand the background and language of those who come to seek their help, they usually find themselves  confronted with a world that is totally different to theirs. Words themselves have a different content. Moreover, the inner psychological structures which form the self are based on different cultures. This is not only due to the fact that people have different cultural and sociological affiliations. It is due to the ethnopsychology  on which self-development is based. Thus,
 -  an individual’s relationship with his family, his mother, father, brothers and sisters has a different intrapsychic representation depending if the person is Jewish or non-Jewish.
 -  the same applies to the way an individual represents himself in terms of time, history, and national identity.
 -  and the same applies to everything that shapes and influences the development of a particular personality: happiness, inter-personal relationships, marriage, the family, faults, guilt, recompense, pleasure, future, life itself, death, the afterworld, violence, human coexistence, etc.

Every professional counselor knows that understanding, analysis and evolution is achieved through psychological work based on such representations: herein are the events, relationships, identifications and images which form the material a counselor works with. Nothing in this domain is objective reality, for everything is viewed through intrapsychic representation. Moreover, in a therapeutic, counseling or analytical situation, this material emerges in a relationship between two people who are different, both culturally and personally.

The need for a Jewish ethnopsychology
In view of the above, a professional who wishes to give help should possess:
 -  knowledge of the psychology of the development of personality and how it functions, knowledge of counseling or psychotherapy;
 -   knowledge of the world of intrapsychic representations, which are expressed in a common language but which have different inner meanings for a Jew and a non-Jew.
(This is the case for every person and his individual world. My doctoral thesis focused on the influence of cultural imagination in dreams and I analyzed this subject in relation to several cultures, taking into consideration the role of different languages.)

In the case of Judaism, certain facts should be known by all professionals working in the field of psychology:
 -  Judaism possesses an ancient corpus of knowledge on the development of cognitive processes in individuals: these processes are expressed in inter-personal relationships, group relations, discussions, conflicts and arbitration. My book, Lev Gompers, is entirely devoted to this corpus of knowledge and teaches how to study it.
 -  Judaism possesses an ancient corpus of knowledge for perfecting middot - the human and spiritual qualities which characterize men in their relationships with others. A Jew is thus given, through education, a number of parameters which guide his relationships with others, and he is also given a strict set of laws for the development and rectification of these middot. These are, for example, modesty, humility, sense of propriety, love, respect for others, joy, marital relations, relations with one’s parents, children, and neighbors. Jewish tradition transmits guidelines for reflection, self-awareness, acknowledgment of errors, and self-improvement.
 -  Judaism possesses an ancient corpus of knowledge and laws for mastering sexual and aggressive urges (towards others or towards oneself).
 -  Judaism possesses an ancient corpus of knowledge on the processes of self-awareness and projection.  This is particularly strong in relation to the validity of judicial testimony.
 -  Judaism possesses an ancient corpus of tradition of inter-personal support, which is developed through study, prayer, meditation, daily, weekly and annual rituals.
 -  Judaism possesses an ancient corpus of knowledge on the different psychological processes of those who  develop these qualities by sustaining family traditions, returning to tradition or through integrative study.
I would like to stress that, in a similar way, these dimensions concern everyone (non-Jews as well) who seek help.
Ethnopsychiatry and ethnopsychology take all these dimensions into account. Judaism presents a special problem  because its educational and therapeutic systems of thought were formulated, put into practice and transmitted more than 3000 years ago and are practiced today in the same written and oral language. 
These dimensions nearly always play a conscious or unconscious role, because of the fact that non-Jews also view Jews specifically as Jews.

Psychological counselors and the need for a basic knowledge of Jewish
ethnopsychology.
The reason why this corpus of knowledge is inaccessible today is because:
 -  it is not taught in modern institutions in this double context;
 -  it requires extensive knowledge of Judaism, rather than psychology, in order to understand it in depth and put it into practice.
Thus, the majority of counselors and psychologists (or associated professions) have no possibility of studying the subject in depth. 
Certain rare psychologists or other professional counselors have some knowledge of this domain but they rarely study it systematically, nor do they apply it in practice.

Modia is an accessible scientific publication which answers this need.
In view of the needs of professional counselors and in view of the needs of the educated public for an integrative training in this domain, I have decided
 -  to use this new medium to cater to the needs of those who seek to know more about the anthropological basis of Judaism;
 -  to make accessible on this site academic papers of the highest standard which adhere to the criteria enumerated above;
 -  to use the possibilities offered by Internet links in order to create a truly integrative site, which covers the cognitive, existential, emotional and aesthetic dimensions of the subject.

The response of viewers has confirmed the need for such a site. Modia has been consistently popular with viewers. 
Modia registered 2000 visitors by day on its various sections. 

The choice of this method of teaching was wise. 
Modia is both an effective
university and a yeshiva and no other form of dissemination of my writings has reached so wide an audience: my books have been published in fewer than several thousand copies, acquired primarily by specialists. 
And how many read them in their entirety? 
In contrast, the continuity in the number of viewers and the dozens of letters which arrive every day on the site confirm the efficiency of this form of publication and dissemination. 

Tutoring
In addition, the site provides viewers with a permanent tutoring service.
Since this involves academic and personal tutoring, the service constitutes a veritable form of on-line counseling.
The tutoring service impacts beyond the individual level. 
Those who benefit from it will then disseminate the knowledge they have learnt in their own classrooms, private lessons or through mail bulletins.

Donations

LINK

Content
This site offers viewers the opportunity of learning about the anthropology of the Jewish people:
 -  knowledge of the "founding" texts of Judaism;
 -  Jewish methods of commentary and study;
 -  the different schools and masters of Torah;
 -  Jewish thought regarding mankind, God and morality;
 -  the Jewish view of time (the Jewish calendar, history, day, prayers, weeks, Shabbat, festivals and stages of life);
 -  the Jewish view of space (the centrality of Israel and Jerusalem, exile, places of study, the home, the community);
 -  the integration of all levels of human existence (cognitive, imaginary, aesthetic, emotional, active, interpersonal) in Judaism.

Style
These teachings are communicated not only through the content but also through the form and style of this  site.
For this reason too, the entire site is written by the author himself.
I have chosen a style which transmits concepts and thoughts in a language that is comprehensible, and not in the jargon of any particular group. In keeping with Rashi’s commentaries, the style chosen aims to enable every level of viewer to learn from the site and find in it things that are relevant to him. Finally, nearly everything is based directly on written sources, for this is not journalism.

Recommendation by the rabbinical authorities of Israel.
Below is an extract from the foreword of my book "Lev Gompers" by Rav Shalom Messas, Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, and Head of Rabbinical Courts of Jerusalem (the complete review takes up one page and is published in the introduction to" Lev Gompers"): "… an important work, not only because of its content but also because of its high standard… It presents a wealth of knowledge, rules and introductions both for beginner students of the Talmud and for those have already delved in it……even the most knowledgeable hakhamim - scholars - of the Talmud and its commentaries will appreciate and benefit from this work."

  Some of my poems.

Adam
Happiness
Land of Israel
Light in war
and here many others Poems in french

.../...
Happiness is seeing, as I walk,
the beauty that settles around me every day.
the beauty which You scatter,
simply

and in the butterfly You even gave us a kiss
If I am incapable of gentleness
it will fly away.
Love demands the daintiness and lightness
of its legs and antenna.
Will I merit such bountifulness?
.../...

My photos and judaism


with commentaries

Songs in english during the Seder of Peshah (Ma nishtana, and so on)

Why is this night different than all other nights?
On all other nights we eat matzah and bread.
This night only matzah .../...

Had gadya, had gadya

One little goat, one little goat,
My father bought for two zuzim.
One little goat, one little goat.

Then came a cat and ate the goat
My father bought for two zuzim.
One little goat, one little goat.
.../...

My Family Gompers (history and genealogy)

Jerusalem excavations 2007
and proof of the lies propagated by the media.